


War Of The Worlds (Arc 3)

by EliteLenny223_StrikerStanding692



Series: Witch-ATLAS Chronicles [2]
Category: Call of Duty (Video Games), Strike Witches
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23012983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliteLenny223_StrikerStanding692/pseuds/EliteLenny223_StrikerStanding692
Series: Witch-ATLAS Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1643362





	1. Chapter 1

“In the Earths Come Hell”

 **_Josie –_ ** _Getting knocked out of a battle and getting captured hasn’t been my greatest plan. ATLAS was smart enough to ambush us all. Why? Well… Let’s just say they had trackers on us this whole time. I’m the very special one in the world who’s deserved the extra attention. And now?_

_Well, let’s just say things haven’t been going smooth on my end…_

Josie felt like she was in a liquid capsule of sorts. She was breathing, not natural air but oxygen that keeps her body regulated as the capsule water takes the natural perspiration off her. She didn’t feel awake, but her minimal surroundings tell her she was re-captured by ATLAS. She recognized the water’s temperature and the feel of the mask she wore is all too similar.

_Who knew that explosives would damage me? Wait… It was the explosion or the force of hitting a wall that knocked me out completely…_

**_Some time ago at a lookout point next to that Commercial Transport System in Siberia…_ **

“Fuck…!” Rex mutters to himself. “Doctor Boyd, she’s in trouble.” He was carefully looking through his scope and saw that Josie was only recovering. He then tried to contact her. “Josie! Get out of there! It’s a goddamn trap-!” He tried to wait, but he was seeing she was only being fired on at one direction. She was seen using her shield, but was greatly overwhelmed before she eventually got knocked off combat. Not seeing blood spatter, he doesn’t completely believe she’s dead. She’s too valuable to be dead if the grunts like to be that close when they engage. “She ain’t dead, but she’s definitely powerful...”

Nizio then finished packing his small bag and wears it on him. “Should we be going?”

“Best if we-” Rex spoke but stopped as he saw a grenade being thrown. He saw the shape and the type of grenade it was. A flashbang. “Shit-!” The nine-banger released a series of flashes that mostly blinds anyone who has a direct look at it. And Rex himself got blinded even if he wanted to cover his eyes. The door to the apartment was busted open. And even with his hearing temporarily compromised by the flashbang’s blinding and deafening effects, he was at least able to hide behind a bed using his instinct. Breathing and trying to get his bearings quick, he was eventually able to restore some his hearing for a few seconds. He hears gunfire, and Nizio who was hiding and groaning in pain for some reason. “GET COVER!! NOW!!” He shouted that just as he draws a sidearm pistol and prepares himself. He peeked his head out to see Nizio in cover, but there would be an unfortunate incident. He heard machine gun fire from the other side of the wall and the higher caliber rounds were piercing through it. Nizio didn’t stand a chance. He groaned in pain briefly before his lifeless body filled with bleeding holes falls to the floor. “Fuck…! No…!” Rex muttered that to himself and watched the door, aiming his pistol.

It wasn’t easy fighting out of the room. Rex was able to take out his first grunt that time and grabbed his light machine gun before proceeding to the nearest corridor. At least two more squads were sent after him that time before all of them were eliminated. Barely surviving since one of the men was wearing an exo-suit, he’s thankful he still has his survival skills to help him. Nizio Boyd wasn’t so lucky as his life could have meant some more info could be given to Sentinel besides what Rex is looting the scientist’s body for… a flashdrive. Pocketing it, he runs out of the room… And before he knew it after descending from an elevator, he ran out of the building he was in, heading to the place Josie was last seen from. Then he saw an ATLAS Warbird flying away from the location. Then he realized it himself. The way her attackers moved at him seemed calculated. And with only a single Warbird in the area, he had the strongest feeling she’d be taken from the spot, not killed. But why? Is it because of the magic she possessed? Or something. In any case, Rex lost her completely from that day…

_I didn’t know how long I was out... But I heard it from him which I trust… It was a trap, probably set mostly for me. I hope Rex and Nizio came out of it unscathed. Now I’m pretty worried..._

At present time… Josie’s eyes started to slowly open…

**_Witch-ATLAS Chronicles: Marsdog’s War of the Worlds_ **

**_Arc 3: “Warfare unchained”_ **

_I then knew that my hunch was right. I couldn’t tell what’s past that class in the capsule, but I know that if I act suspicious, they’ll be able to see me awake. My eyes only appeared partially opened to them while my body was bare in that contraption… Plus… hoses and sensors were connected to my body. They’ve went through lengths to get me connected to the capsule. I had the strangest feeling that time, feeling the strength I have in the capsule isn’t mine. If I’m busted out of here, which was something I wanted, I would lose my feeling over my body, even if these bastards were maintaining it._

_It made me question that Project Magic really is. Using me here now and maintaining me while they had a plan over magic gateways? I don’t think it’s a separate record. Whatever it is, I hope it’s found quickly. If there’s a way to come after Jonathan Irons, any way can be taken. But for now… I’m just stuck in that capsule…_

Josie could feel her body wasn’t that cold. It was probably because the temperature of the water was changing constantly. ‘ _What are they really doing to me?_ ’ She thought of that just as she looked left and right.

She began to listen to voices. She guessed they were voices of scientists or workers in a lab, some male and some female. “ _Thermal Respirators are complete. Romagna stronghold still needs those fluctuation reports or we’ll never be able to maintain power input._ ”

“ _Would you relax? There’s no problem with the Nuclear power plants and their peripherals. What the-?_ ”

“ _Oh shit…! Look at Monitor 3!_ ” That same person said that and paused before the worker continued to speak. “ _What in the hell?! How did she-?! Get security!_ ”

“ _She’s already being engaged by rotating security forces! Open the armory vault… Now!_ ”

Josie then felt the water shake a little. Then she even confirmed the ground shook a little, but the source of the vibration came from above in a muffled effect. ‘ _Fighting from above? Am I in a basement of a building or something?_ ’

“ _All of the security is dead!!! Goddamn it… Cover the damn door! Who the hell saw this coming?! There was another one with a launcher?! These bitches are-_ ” The worker stopped talking when there was an explosion at a distance, straight ahead from Josie’s perspective. “ _Crap! Fire at them!_ ”

Josie could hear gunfire briefly exchange between who she believed were the workers, and their attackers. ‘ _Now I’m freaking out a little._ ’ She opened her eyes, trying to get a view past the glass. Trying to move her hand with the lessened strength, she lifts her hand and eventually she got it to touch the glass.

After a minute of gunfire exchange, the workers were heard groaning in pain. “ _Just give it up!_ ” A girl’s voice was heard from the other side of the room, presumably from the attackers’ side. “ _You’re not doing yourselves any favors._ ”

“ _You… You heard her._ ” One of the workers spoke up and Josie was later hearing that things were being dropped on some metallic floor of sorts. She recognizes the thud of materials clashing together. The floor should be made of refurbished marble, and the things dropped should be heavy enough and recognizable that they were automatic weapons.

“ _Clearing this side! Check over there!_ ” Another girl’s voice, somewhat a bit more mature in her tone said it. Josie assumed this other voice was superior to the previous one, having more battle experience.

Josie could sense that the workers fell silent. She could tell there could have been casualties, but the ones who surrendered probably had enough and decided to just stay out of their attackers’ way. ‘ _Now I’m curious. Who’s attacking this lab._ ’

The previous voice from before spoke. “ _Nothing here. Just the workers now on their stomach and scared straight._ ”

“ _Understood._ ” The more mature girl’s voice was heard from its softest volume, and Josie could tell it was from an amateur-ish earpiece, not a louder radio. “ _Anything else?_ ”

“ _I…_ ” The voice was getting closer that she could be assumed to be in the same room as Josie’s capsule. “ _This… This is it. The water… the… Hera!! Get over here!!!_ ”

Josie then saw a figure of a girl outside the capsule she was in. ‘ _I see her… Who is she…? Wait… What are those ears over her head?_ ’ She slightly gasped in her breath. She had a feeling of what that girl is, but that wasn’t the time. Josie put most of her strength, remembering her morse code studies and readied two fingers. She couldn’t speak, but this has to be a way of communicating. And as she began to tap with her two fingers and hitting with her nails, she saw the girl trying to listen with her human ears. ‘ _That’s it._ ’

“ _Wait, wait! Quiet!_ ” The voice from the girl sounding curious was joined by the other personality, the superior of the two-man squad. After a while of Josie repeating the same morse code taps, she then figured it out. “ _Break Glass… Stop. Let water drain. Stop._ ”

“ _Seriously?!_ ” The superior girl’s voice said, probably protesting the idea. “ _Don’t you see she’s got hoses attached to her body?!_ ”

Josie chuckled silently as she was in her thoughts. ‘ _That’s the point. I don’t really care. Plus… With what ATLAS is doing? I don’t believe they’ll be reckless in how they remove me either._ ’

“ _We gotta give it a try. I’m gonna try to bust her out!_ ” The younger voice said this just before she was briefly seen looking around. And coming back, she was hitting the glass with something metallic. A broken bar of sorts… probably debris from the explosion that happened earlier was what is being used to break the glass.

“ _Let me,_ ” the superior girl’s voice said. And so the younger one hanged back behind the superior, before she continued to bash the glass. Her hits were working better as Josie was seeing cracks on the capsule glass. “ _Hang back! It’s about to break!_ ” And it was matching what Josie is seeing… with the cracks spreading sideways, then upwards. A few more bashes happened, just before a strong one had finally shattered a part of the capsule glass, forcing the water to drain out.

Josie’s hoses connected to her suddenly detached to her. She didn’t know it, but her strength was about to fade without whatever is being supplied to her. But that wasn’t the least of her problems. Her body was weak that by the moment her body was thrown off the capsule along with the water and laid still on the floor, she felt her own consciousness slip again. Turned to lie on her back while she felt the marble floor, she looked at her rescuers… a silver-haired girl with a length up until her shoulders, and a black-haired girl looking older and with a memorable scar over her head and eye. Josie opened her mouth, trying to speak, but she was about to fade.

“Whoa, whoa!” The younger silver-haired girl tried to shake Josie awake, but it couldn’t help her stay awake. “Stay awake! Hey!!!” And Josie eventually slipped unconscious again. “ _Damn it! She’s faded, but… I think she’s okay._ ”

“ _A waste of time if you ask me. We took longer than we should-_ ”

“ _We’re taking her back with us._ ”

“ _What?! Absolutely not, Eila!_ ”

“ _No. Not a matter of discussion! We’re all she’s got!_ ” The younger voice had said this before Josie continuously fell into slumber.

_That’s where I slept and thought I felt asleep in minutes. Thing is with perception of time… one would always think it’s just a few minutes of time that passed when they take a nap. Truth is… Perceptions could get curved._

Josie then awakened suddenly and sat up, still feeling her vision kind of blurry while her eyes were wide open. Her awareness had suddenly come back. She was in some bedroom with mostly wooden walls while she was sitting on a bed with a thin mattress. She breathed furiously in an out, putting a hand on her chest and feeling her heart work as it should. “What in the fuck is going on?!” She muttered that to herself.

“ _You tell me,_ ” that familiar younger girl’s voice from before spoke and Josie turned her head to see a female teen with silver-white hair wearing ordinary civilian clothing. Though something was off. Josie could identify it’s what boys wear and it wasn’t exactly for a modern time. “You know that it took about two days for you to wake up?”

“Two days…? You mean… the capsule.” Josie sighs. “Should I thank you or-?” Then Josie remembered something. “Hey. I gotta ask something. You wouldn’t happen to have… ears on your head… would you?”

The girl raised her eyebrow. “Huh? You mean you never saw a witch before in your life?”

“W-witch…?” Josie repeated the girl’s words. “Hold up! There’s something you should see. Um… I’m not sure if it’ll be shocking to you but…” She sighed, closing her eyes before she started to concentrate, letting energy flow before a set of wolf ears and a tail were shown from her body. Opening her eyes, she looked at the girl, clearly shocked of what she’s seeing. “So… Does that make me-”

“YOU’RE A WITCH!!!” The girl approached Josie just before she smiled with a grin. “I can’t believe it… And you didn’t even know the word for it?!”

Josie winced at it, now confused. “Okay, you’re confusing me for someone you think-!” Then she stopped talking when the girl she talked to was doing the same thing she’s done, concentrating for some reason before a set of ears and a tail is shown from the head and just above the buttocks. Unlike Josie’s wolf features, the girl has features related to a fox of sorts. “This is getting weird now…”

“I know!” The girl said it excitingly and offered her hand for a shake. “Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen! Nice to meet you!”

“Josie Franz.” She reaches Eila’s hand as she said her name. “So… How often do witches come around from where you’re from?”

“From Suomus? I guess it’s meant to be genetic so it varies.” Eila replied this and got another puzzled look from Josie. “What?”

“Suomus?”

“Um… It’s the nation I’m from. What about you?” Eila asked this, and she instantly got a glare from Josie, who then stood up. “Um… Josie?”

“I’m not in Siberia anymore, aren’t I? In fact with all the mumbo-jumbo you’ve been telling me, I could tell I’m not from just anywhere, aren’t I?!” Josie then started to walk slowly towards Eila. “The only thing I could remember was that I was still in Siberia, hitching a ride out to a town that has a plane, or just anywhere I could contact SENTINEL!! You’re telling me you don’t even know how I got to the capsule?!”

“I don’t have all your answers, Josie! It’s not as though I got everything out from a vision I saw!” Eila answered, matching Josie’s pace as she backed away from the Liberion witch. “Could you try and calm down?! Tell me where you’re from!”

“I’m from Earth! That’s what! Year 2061!!!”

“2061?! Don’t you mean 1945?!”

“What the literal fuck?!!” Josie grits her teeth in anger and paced so quick she was able to pick up Eila’s shirt collar and lift her up with both hands. “You better have something to tell me or-!”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!!” The superior voice girl from that rescue came from that girl Josie had seen back at that laboratory. Closing the door to the room, the black-haired girl with a scar approached slowly. “Put. Her. Down. NOW.”

Josie just glared at the other girl, before looking back at Eila. “What is this?”

Eila uneasily laughs at Josie. “Josie… I might have an idea where you’re from with how you’re reacting…” She looked at Hera who seems to be confused. “I think she has an idea of what crossed into our world.”

“You mean who.” Hera said this and looked at the girl named Josie. “The name’s Hera Kuhn. And… There’s… something you should know.”

It took a few minutes later and Josie sat on her bed, staring at the floor feeling dreaded. “In… a matter of hours? So what opened from New Baghdad…”

“…ended right at the City of Rome.” Hera replied this, sitting down next to Eila on individual chairs. “Casualties mounted up to an estimate of a few hundred civilians, and an estimated figure of 900 protecting and reinforcing armed forces. It also counts the armored units that were supposed to be enough but… Not even they stood a chance. And the casualties kept climbing when the rest of the army’s remaining reserves were getting capped right after Rome was taken.”

“I arrive in another world to hear a whole city was taken over and more are in danger of being destroyed or taken by ATLAS…” Josie looks at Eila. “Where were you when it happened?”

“The 501st Joint Fighter Wing, the unit I was in, took part of the defense operation over Rome, but we failed. Enemy forces held the city strong with major casualties recorded from an allied joint fighter wing... The 504th. So many witches dead… I almost lost my will to fly straight that day.”

“And all because of Jonathan Irons.” Josie looked at Hera. “Righteous man… righteous prick who brought Hell on Earth. Can you believe it?”

Hera and Eila looked at each other before they looked back at Josie. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Sure.” Josie sighs. “Hope you brought your popcorn.”

“Popcorn?” Eila asked.

“Ugh…” Josie face-palms right away. “You gotta be kidding me…”


	2. A single stroke of fate

Two Earths, different times in different dimensions… currently accessible only to ATLAS in both ways, changes mostly anything when it comes to parallel dimensional travel. When ATLAS of Earth 1 had taken the City of Rome, every even head on began to be a fall for the rest of the country called Romagna. It becomes a puppet state preserved for ATLAS, while the combined force of the new Neuroi and ATLAS begin to attack targets that slow down or break the human resolve. The Axis Alliance engaged production lines and supply routes.

“It’s coming back!!” A sailor running on a secure oil rig on a group of small islands was running. Neuroi attack craft intercept the oil rig facility in its fast speeds, comparing it to a jet or a jet striker’s speed. From the first time it attacked, it only took 7 minutes for the rig to lose structural integrity. And the running sailor heading for an escape isn’t so lucky, being the last one alive. “No, no!!! AAAAAHHH!!” The sailor panicked and jumped just as a blue Neuroi beam decimated him and triggered an explosive in the oil rig. Soon, the whole dig detonates and was destroyed.

In a cargo plane, a medium-type Neuroi matching its speed was firing at the aircraft. While it had fighter escorts, the cargo plane couldn’t completely evade damage and destruction. That plane was considered to contain supplies for a Witch Outpost.

At the Witch Outpost established at Southeast Gallia, named the Lunar Brine, a witch who assisted in unloading boxes for the supply move from Fuso to that outpost started to suffer hyperventilation, then it later turned into a sudden heart attack. Before she left from Fuso, she received an injection to ‘inoculate’ her from diseases that are starting to be evident in Europe. But it was all a ruse. That same witch couldn’t bear the pain she suffered and her body started to glow red as she screamed in pain. Suddenly the whole area of the base, the secondary hangar, was destroyed in an explosion, killing 4 witches and 9 crew workers. The worst part of the report finished after an investigation, was that the explosion started directly from the witch who was receiving a simulated heart attack.

Irons sighed, looking at the monitors in the ATLAS-controlled safehouse. His time in Liberion isn’t brief as he was still trying to get a private industrial company to work for him. Having schematics of the factory on hand, he studies it carefully, should he need to take it by force if he has to.

**_Irons –_ ** _Virginia wasn’t my first choice. I was once thinking of trying to take Washington State instead of Virginia. There’s more industrialization there, but Virginia seemed to be the only place that makes an insane amount of aircraft and firearms. It was said at this world, this was the place where some strikers are being produced. So I have to be careful. I’m at one end of the state trying to improve production of weapons even little by little. Just for this time, I’m only reaching a deal for that factory to make weapon attachments._

A man opens and enters the room, wearing his dark grey shirt and pants. Having a common crewcut for hair, Irons immediately recognizes him as one of his own, besides having a printed patch of ATLAS on the shoulder part of the shirt. He then made a report. “All quiet out there, sir.”

“Excellent,” Irons replied before he changed the subject. “Chris, how’s the deal going?”

“Dealmakers just came back just before I got here. They said that factory is as good as yours. Like always.”

“Good to know. We’re slipping private industries out of the hairs of the country’s military. Now who would do that? The first they’d think of are shell companies. But the list grows deeper. It gives us well enough time to produce the additional resources as long as we’re dug in. And we’re sucking the life out of Liberion at the same time. If that’s not genius, I don’t know what is.” He sighs, continuing to speak. “You ever had some Cuban?”

“Cuban?” Chris asked, then realized what Jonathan meant. “Oh. Cigars. Light smoker, but not on cigars, really.”

“It’s a habit that one takes when one has complacency over what he’s achieved. But it’s not something I’d afford... not as long as I’m alive. My health has to improve upon itself. Well... It’s a good thing you don’t smoke that kind... at least not yet. We have a long way to go before all becomes well. And... Most of the ones who heard that transmission still hate us.” Irons said it just as he saw a holographic image come into view near him. Seeing as he was accompanied by Genie again, he smiled.

“...not as much as they still hate the Neuroi.” Genie said it before looking at Chris. “Chris Warren, I need some time with him.”

Irons puts the schematics down on the bed just as his man Chris leaves the room and closes the door behind. “Can I help you?”

Genie giggled. “You can say that. But right now, it’s just that I need a pair of ears to hear what I have to say.” She looked around the safehouse before speaking up. “I must say you still maintain a nice place even if it is a safehouse. Custom-made interior. You certainly don’t hold back on your living standards.”

“The living standards are still minimal. It still helps resource allocation, Genie. Now... I think you’re here to tell me what you need.”

“Oh... Yes...” Genie looked down and frowned a little, and seconds later she looked at Irons with determination. “Jonathan, you should know by now that not all collectives are perfect. They tend to lose alignment with just one or a few individuals. In the case of an incident during the occupation of Gallia by the Neuroi before my presence, an individual broke out of containment from the collective. And ever since, that individual was being a thorn on the whole faction of Neuroi. I was investigating this myself, and found out something grim. You remember the Neuroi nest over Venezia was branching out of the side itself? Well... It’s almost the same case as the former Gallian nest. Except the Super Hive that was deployed on Venezia, completely destroyed that nest. I’m sure you can see where this is going. The crackdown on these individual Neuroi has started. And that Super Hive is moving slowly, for now.”

Irons took a seat on the bed in his room. “You fear the collective you control would lose a few or several individuals ever since the first one from Gallia.”

“I wanted to hear from you, Irons. My choice... is to completely purge my collective of those thorns... so that they will never be threats to my control ever again. Management has been better after I arrived. I’m able to consolidate Neuroi forces better and we’re now starting to adapt spreading out. But with this problem? I have to make a stand as to what I need to do.”

“It’s exactly that, Genie. Your choice. Well... I made my choice to try and disarm my world’s foreign military.” He stands up from his seat and approaches Genie’s holographic image. “...knowing that policy making has been a better strong suit than profit. As ATLAS makes more both here and on my Earth, I realized something. We only needed pure will to make it through most of our trials. And we didn’t fail to live up to our expectations, much less exceed them. As to what I’d recommend you’d do? Well... I made a mistake of letting Gideon and Mitchell live, not deploying Manticore in New Baghdad. Seems SENTINEL wants to try again. I won’t make that same mistake before.”

“Are they willing to strike again?” Genie asked, concerned. “Because since we’ve connected our worlds together, I could do something for you in exchange. Thanks to the time you bought for the Neuroi, we were able to accelerate our own production. So... as a way of paying it back... I could suggest sending some of my own to make it hard for SENTINEL.”

“It’ll reveal that they’re not alone. But it’ll be worse for us if you plan to start an assault. Though you know of the technology we have, they’re always improving every day.” Irons smiled a little before looking away. “Let’s hold the line here a little longer. We’ve been making progress so far. I’d say we wait until we’re in a relaxed position here... with proper defenses set up so that we’re really hell bent on staying.”

“I see. I understand.”

“And... You’re still missing my recommendation... not a suggestion. Unlike your collective, I deal with my contractors in fair conversation. Do the same thing on the individual level. Talk to them first. Then if they decide to provoke you in the wrong way, make them suffer slowly, just before you dispose of them.”

“Thank you. That’s a different advice, but I’ll try it.” Genie sighs. “It’ll be a little difficult, but I could make this work. Besides... That individual evolved since then. Even if the constructs are destroyed, that anomaly stays alive. I doubt it’ll be in one place... but who doesn’t love a challenge? Once again, I thank you, Jonathan.” Genie said this before her holographic image faded from Irons sights.

Meanwhile... Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke was walking on the corridors of a building, looking at a paper filled with instructions. Sighing, she knew she had to comply. It’s been a while since she’s been called personally by Command’s Marshals. But she wasn’t alone. The 502nd’s commander, Gundula Rall was just outside the door of the Marshals meeting room.

And Minna winced at this, seeing Gundula herself. “Commander Rall?”

“I still maintained being a Squadron Leader just officially, even if it was mentioned I should accept a promotion at these times.” Rall said this just as she looked at Minna. “Wilcke. I heard you took it hard when you split up the 501st. How are you holding up?”

“At least I’m not behind a desk. Right now, I’m just supervising route protections. Can you believe the enemy’s smart enough to target supply routes too?”

“ _That’s not the only thing they’re smart for now,_ ” said a voice behind Minna... which belonged to a blonde-haired witch with tied braids on the back.

Minna recognized who it is. “Hemricourt de Grunne... Rosalie.”

“Commander Wilcke... And Commander Rall...”

“...still a Squadron Leader,” Gundula joked, now hearing the misconception again. “But I’m glad to see another face.”

Rosalie looked at Rall briefly. “Strange events, call for strange meetings like this.” She then looked at Minna. “Knowing we had to hold the line and send some of our own on Secret Operations like command had instructed was I think the most moronic move they made. I’m not calling them completely stupid, but it lessens our manpower for counteroffensives.”

“But it doesn’t decrease defenses over key structures. You have to remember that our resources are far from running out.”

“For most nations, perhaps. But some like Gallia are starting to lose supplies again... not to mention friends...” Rosalie said this, briefly frowning and looking back with determination. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sure Command has their hands full on this, and hopefully meeting with them would make things different.”

“As any other meeting,” Minna said, just before the doors were open.

A woman clears her throat in front of the three wing commanders. “They’re ready for you three.”

Several minutes in with the basic updates, these three were in attention for a while before they were told to be at ease as the meat of the conversation was just beginning.

The four Marshals included in this meeting are Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, Italian Marshal Ettore Bastico, Air Marshal Keith Park, and Lieutenant General Ruben Lagus.

Kesselring then spoke. “Romagna was seized, North Africa is beginning to start thinning out from our forces, and Karlsland is in danger of being shared by ATLAS and the Neuroi, which in possibility could get picked clean if that were the case. But it’s out of our control.”

Park continued. “Reports suggested you three have been making sure some critical supply routes haven’t been touched yet. Only with the 501st as being undermanned due to assignments on deep reconnaissance missions, the 506th and the 502nd share resources via direct trade. We can at least loosen up when the routes clear up of enemy activity completely. It’s a good thing the enemy is being pushed back from that area.”

“But it doesn’t eliminate the main problem.” Kesselring interrupted Park and spoke. “Numbers aren’t the problem here, but armaments and training. And both are being drained out of us from a sponge.”

Rosalie partially listened to the marshals bicker with each other that she decided to whisper to Minna. “Aren’t they supposed to discuss report details with us?”

Minna sighs. “With all the mess that’s been happening and with the enemy spreading out effectively, I can’t blame our marshals. And the terrifying thing is the resource protection is increasing. But some places would be left defenseless in return.”

Gundula then replied hearing the other two talk. “If only a miracle comes to our doorstep. Some of my lower ranks went back to their respective nations, but the ones with higher battle experience are in the secret operations payroll too.”

“Kanno Naoe?”

“Right.” Gundula sighs. “The new addition... Karibuchi Hikari was sent back to Fuso to not only intensify training there... but meet witches in the same nation.”

Minna winced and smiled. “If you ask me, I think she’d be someone Miyafuji Yoshika wouldn’t expect. I heard some stories, but it seems Hikari bounces back from most things from the moment she fails.”

“Yeah. Stubborn girl.” Gundula said that in a mutter and smiled.

At about the same time on a high afternoon in Yokosuka, Fuso… a domestic supply truck, being civilian in nature, was just coming into Yokosuka. And at the back of the truck was a girl wearing an all navy-blue colored sailor’s outfit. Hikari didn’t think of which city or town she would be in, and now she’s hitting it well in coming into civilization again after hours of travel. Having been coming from one other city, she expresses a sigh of great relief and smiled, finally able to see Yokosuka. “Wow…! I’m here! Is that…? Yokosuka, right?”

Back at the Marshal’s meeting when the leaders were still bickering, Rosalie felt silent for a little while. It was just right when Gundula Rall had finished up telling Hikari was meeting other witches or those former in Fuso, she decided to share. “Um… About that. You said one of the 502nd… Karibuchi…”

“Hm?” Gundula Rall noticed it from Rosalie. “Hikari? She’s visiting witches for those formerly in Fuso during her time, so I gave her some names and-”

“You read my mind, I think! Actually… One of mine… I gave her a break to do the same thing! Her name… It’s Kuroda Kunika. Hm…” Rosalie then wondered about something else. “I have to ask something. Miyafuji is taking a break in Yokosuka. Right?”

Minna nods. “That’s right. She’s just accompanied by Yoshikawa Michiko, one of the JSU witches under Kathryn Bolton.”

“That’s all well and good, but it seems I’m a psychic. You see… One of the names I put in a list I provided for Kunika was actually Miyafuji Sayaka, Yoshika’s mother.”

Rall chuckled. “Well well. I gave Hikari a name related to Yoshika… and that’s her grandmother Akimoto Yoshiko.”

Minna giggled. “You both booked a name related to Yoshika. If that’s not a stroke of luck, it must be fate.”

In Fuso again, Hikari was standing at the side of the road, waving goodbye to a truck just leaving her. “Thank you! Thank you very much!! Hm… Let’s see.” Browsing her bag, she had a piece of paper in hand, which she unfolded. “Akimoto Yoshiko … Hm… Just off the town? Okay!”

With some walking involved, Hikari had to find the town that was next to the Yokosuka Naval Base. And she was able to see the view of the sea, and was awe-struck by the first sight of it. She then thought of something. The only place closest to a view of the water’s expanse with hills was that transceiver station she always goes to bring her father lunch. The view in Yokosuka didn’t seem to compare to any other places in how she knew it in her life. Nodding and smiling, she proceeded down to the town area.

And HIkari was easily able to get to the Yokosuka Naval Base, having a feeling that Miyafuji Sayaka would be known at some point. She was asking one of the guards of where Akimoto Yoshiko lives. After having been told that the Miyafuji Clinic and the residence was just the same as their workplace, Hikari was relieved. She didn’t need to go far. Being told the address, she got excited so much that she ran into someone.

Kunika got hit and was found sitting on the ground, the side of the road. Shaking her head a little, she was hearing some girl apologizing. And looking up, she could see her and was even reaching out a hand. “Um… Thanks!” She said this, being pulled up and measured the other girl a little shorter than she is. “Hey… Um… Now that you’re here, I wanna ask. Could you tell me where Miyafuji Sayaka lives? The only other thing I was told is that she’s a doctor but that person didn’t me where the address is.”

“Wait a minute… You wouldn’t happen to be looking for a clinic, were you?” Hikari asked, seeing as information this girl was looking for could connect with hers. “I’m told to go to the Miyafuji Clinic to find someone! Sounds like you’re looking for someone from that clinic, and I got the directions!”

“Really?! Fantastic! Well… In that case, we should go together!” Kunika said it and offered her hand. “Kuroda Kunika.”

Hikari reached and took Kunika’s hand and made a handshake. “Karibuchi Hikari. This seems weird… Both of us are led to the same place? Fate?”

“I don’t know about fate, but what I’m taught is that I have to get used to different types of people, no matter what or who they are.” Kunika replied this before continuing. “That’s what makes a very noble type of person really.”

Hikari then started to walk and lead the pair. “Um… Kuroda … I need to ask. Since we’re looking for the same house, we may as well get to know each other. You’re not from a fighter wing or squadron, are you?”

“Currently taking a break to meet people in Fuso. My unit was disbanded because… Well… It’s Gallia. Maybe you haven’t heard, but it’s under attack again. This new human faction and the Neuroi working together seems to be very bad for all of us. It’s a good thing only three of us from the 506th left to recuperate. Otherwise… The others wouldn’t be able to do well if we’re dragging them down on their missions.” As Kunika said that, she noticed Hikari stop walking and turned around to look at her. “Karibuchi?”

“Did you say missions?” Hikari asked, being serious on the subject. “Not one to say so much, but I think… Were those missions you’re talking about secret in nature? Because most of mine are running secret missions too… something about looking closer at what the enemy’s capabilities are.”

“Wow… Your unit too?! Which unit are you from?!”

“The 502nd Joint Fighter Wing… Brave Witches. We’re formerly from the Eastern Front but we were beaten back badly and forced to move.” Hikari said it just as she lowered her head. “We even took a casualty before disbanding… Kanno Naoe…” Hikari said this and didn’t feel like moving from where she is. “I don’t know… All I’m just experiencing are very bad memories. She’s probably a close friend to me so much more when she gave me courage to overcome anything past the things that I didn’t wanna hear.”

Kunika smiled and put her hand on Hikari’s shoulder. “We got some sharing to do… so taking a break isn’t so bad. A cure for sadness is to let things out, even crying loud too!”

Hikari that time was shedding tears from her eyes. “Yeah… Maybe if we took a break, we could at least reminisce. I need it…”

Meanwhile, a set of human eyes was keeping its sights on the front of the Miyafuji Clinic before the pair slowly turns red. The sights were focused on Yoshika and Yoshikawa Michiko that time. They were its targets… or maybe just friends it would tolerate? It remembered Yoshika… all too well. “I finally found you,” the female briefly spoke, looking at her intended subjects. “Out comes one truth… and out comes another…”


	3. A single stroke of fate pt. 2

The Miyafuji Clinic that time in the mid-afternoon didn’t have any patients for the day. Yoshika walks out through the front courtyard and sighs. “Seems like a slow day like some.”

“ _Mhm._ ” She heard a familiar voice reply and turned her head to see Yoshikawa behind Yoshika before stopping to stand beside her. “Helping out your mother and grandmother just reminded of what it used to be like in Sado. Usually it’s just me carrying the water from a fresh spring to fill up our tank. Had to deal with it almost every week.”

“You never really talk so much about your family.”

“Nothing much to talk about. It’s just me and my sister. Not all girls have proper witch training. Though she has her own magic, she never really joined through conscription or in any other way in the war.”

“Hm? Why is that?”

“It’s really simple.” Michiko looked at Yoshika. “It’s because I don’t want her to experience bloodlust. I once promised myself I wouldn’t take lives. But… It changed. The moment reality set in when man’s world is much more complex, I followed a guideline… be in the right, for most of the time. It’s what I live for in these times. And it’s a good thing I’m in a war. Otherwise, I would just look for an excuse to take someone’s life.”

“Eh…” Yoshika wanted to reply, but she decided to stay out of it.

“The worst thing of it all… If one stays on that bloody road for a while… That person would think that taking a life becomes easier.” Yoshikawa sighs. “I feel ashamed, but it’s all I felt all this time too. But I’m doing it to put me in the right. Tch… Sounds like a twisted idea when others look at it that way.” Yoshikawa then paid attention towards the road and noticed a black-haired young woman with length past the shoulders was walking towards them. “Yoshika.”

And Yoshika took notice of that same girl, having light amber-colored eyes and seeming to be a six-footer. She then looks at the subject, sensing she’s in her 20’s. “Hm… I wonder who she could be…?” She muttered that to herself, but she doubted Yoshikawa couldn’t hear her. She further identified this subject was European.

And the young woman stopped just in front of Yoshikawa and Miyafuji before she spoke up. “Yoshika Miyafuji.”

Yoshika nods. “Um. Yes?”

The young woman smiled. “It’s been some time… first time I saw you curious of my form out at sea just outside of Gallia was at first, making me feel that I wanted to be like you. Then… my form changed… similar to what you were… and I was trying to match your movements. Gallia… Ever since… I was attached to you… especially when you came to listen to me in that nest. War between man and our race started when we both feared each other. Even if we arrived, who would know who wins? It seems, when I was conscious, while I was only following the collective… I was right. Humanity had a better chance, destroying my kin.”

“Okay that’s enough!!!” Yoshikawa glared at the young woman and got in front of Yoshika to protect her. Michiko glares at the young woman, no longer seeing the surface. “Who are you?! I don’t know how you’re using that story, but some details are only meant to herself until you’re trusted!!”

“Search your feelings. And search me. You’ll know what I mean.” The young woman smiled and briefly showed red glints from her eyes.

“My feelings, huh? Fine.” Yoshikawa then drew a pistol from behind her and pointed it at the young woman’s head. “For a Neuroi, you seem quite accurate.”

The young woman raised an eyebrow. “That’s because I was always on her side, and whatever side she serves. For somehow until the time I was foiled over Venezia, I tried to serve as the only one who could be the bridge between humanity and the supposed conquerors. The Neuroi knew better than conquest, but they begun it as soon as man was proven to be reactive to their presence. I could not stand to be with the collective I thought was right. Killing warmongers isn’t enough for reason that my own kin would destroy so much that you have.”

Yoshika was then convinced of it and just put her hand on Michiko’s arm. “Michiko, that’s enough.”

“What…? Yoshika?” Michiko was a little surprised, being told to lower her own gun. “Soon to trust someone, don’t you think?”

“...someone who helped me, and my friends.” Yoshika the lowered Michiko’s arm herself and looked at her eyes. “Trust me. Even the emotions felt real and she’s described it well.”

Michiko then decided to drop the matter and holster her weapon. “I hope you’re right about this.”

Yoshika then approached the young woman. “You were there a second time trying to communicate.”

“I’m connected via a consciousness.” The young woman replied. “Mine was still being kept on the Gallian nest before. But as soon as it was compromised, I was moved to a different nest. And the collective was well aware since I got into the new nest that got over Venezia… By the moment I exposed myself, they removed me from the presence of a witch. This time, the collective wasn’t going to take chances for their own form of control to be lost over an individual. That’s why after a while of planning, I escaped… replaced myself with a physical form that’s complex, even for the Neuroi I was once completely sided with. This woman you see in my place right now is a woman whose remains were left intact in Gallia… supposedly dying in a basement of sorts being crushed by debris. I copied her appearance and most of her physiology… and I was more awakened. I was able to finally think fully for myself and cut myself off the collective.” She chuckled. “They won’t know I’m not with them until they just come out having lost my trail completely.”

“I see…” Yoshika smiled. “I’m glad you were able to see through your own kin.”

“My suspicions were always there from the moment I’ve found out the humans retrieved a Neuroi core. And I had to show you since I determined you trustworthy. I didn’t know that there was a Neuroi killing machine out to kill the core in Gallia. What I was more fascinated about was the fact that this Neuroi core that they captured had been radicalized, much angrier than usual against humans. Which was why… I remember briefly. That carrier that was lifted up in the sky. That was the machine’s doing. Not originally done by us.” She groaned before continuing. “Be careful, Miyafuji. When you encounter the Neuroi again, they would have already adapted exponentially, especially with the assistance of the human faction ATLAS.”

Yoshika nods, looking determined. “I had a feeling. Some articles from the papers that were showing up say that the Neuroi now have different shapes… some shapes taken from sleeker aircraft designs that weren’t even supposed to be deployed by Liberion, and Britannia.”

“You’ve done your homework.” The young woman said. “Looks like I didn’t introduce myself yet. Up until now, I never had a name, not officially. This woman who died in Gallia… she goes by the name of Amelia. Most of her memories… I was able to retrieve. She had a good life… until the war took a turn for the worst. I’m glad to meet you.” She frowns before continuing. “I… remember when I defended myself, while you had allies coming to save you from me, I disabled a witch with my beams.”

Yoshika winced at what Amelia meant. “Um… There’s something I need to show you.”

Amelia was walking with Yoshika and Michiko Yoshikawa. At that time, they were just arriving at a hill that overlooks different trees. At that time, she saw Yoshika looking at photos. There was a photo of Major Sakamoto laughing in front of the Dover base, and another picture of Mio together with Ichiro Miyafuji when the first striker was finally finished. “Ichiro Miyafuji… the man who made the striker unit possible…”

Yoshikawa sighed. “Yes. The inventor. But the comparison between the two was the witch with him. Mio Sakamoto, now posthumously promoted Lieutenant Colonel. She died… in the hands of a human-Neuroi hybrid.”

Amelia hummed in curiosity. “I never found out how far they were able to make a Neuroi hybrid. But I suppose it’s related to cloning, only used in humans. Because as I analyzed, the girl you saw wasn’t the real Chris.”

Yoshika frowns. “Mio’s death… caused by the memory of someone who we were supposed to protect… And that Chris who showed up in Sicily… So angry… so envious of her older sister. Her own memories might be shallow, but I think that’s only one side to Chris.” She stopped to speak about Chris and changed the subject. “You know… Mio told me something I’d never forget just before I joined the 501st. Protecting everyone, in my father’s mind, meant that he had to invent it. The witches have become much important, and they needed the arsenal to fight against an enemy. So when it was completed, eventually the unit got mass-produced… designed in standards nations wanted the units for.

“My father died in an explosion… probably because something went wrong with one of the further testing he needed done… but I’m starting to doubt that a bit. I accepted my father’s death… and Mio even showed me right where his honorary grave was in Britannia.” Then Yoshika hesitated to speak. But wanting to reveal it all, she continues. “No… I have to tell it. Mio’s death meant things won’t be the same after all. She was as close as who my mentor should be. I’m a witch who has an obligation… to succeed in doing my father’s wish… protect everyone who I still can. Now with how things are… things were added to it… protect who I can… even if it meant taking lives in the process.”

Yoshikawa sighs, knowing what Miyafuji meant. “It seems you helped take down those rotor birds while assisting in the rescue of Duchess Maria. The men shooting at you didn’t hold back and-”

“I didn’t hold back either. Maybe it’s to protect an ideal other than protecting those who can’t defend themselves. I found that out the hard way when I was pulling the trigger.” Yoshika then looked at Amelia. “A lot of things can change in a witch… including me. I changed, understanding what my father had done. I changed further when Mio got killed. I inherited that sword from her before she passed away. And I have to live with the guilt… feeling helpless just by following her request!!” Yoshika then started to cry and get on her knees. “Mio… I’m so sorry! I’m just too stubborn… Maybe if I could have healed you, you wouldn’t allow me to cry…”

Michiko then knew Amelia had emotions like this too. Noticing it, she looks at Amelia even shedding a single tear while looking at Yoshika crying. ‘ _I didn’t figure she’d actually shed a tear. Looks like she understands Yoshika’s story._ ’

Amelia didn’t sob but knew emotions have to come out. “All this caused further by the recklessness of the Neuroi, and their eventual fall to an ideal that perfection leads to more conflict, and then the cycle that wouldn’t end. All of this was more enhanced by a new leader… and causing the death of one of your own. I’m… sorry. You never talked to any one of us, so you have me. A Neuroi hurt her once. And a Neuroi killed her.”

“NO!” Yoshika looked at Amelia, glaring at the young woman while her tears were on her cheeks while she stands up. “None of this is your fault!! You were only trying to tell me something back then!!”

“UNACCEPTABLE. I acted in self defense! And my race is included in my actions against Sakamoto. A hybrid who’s mixed with our race’s genes killed her off! And my race had left its mark again. I have every right to ask for forgiveness, Miyafuji! Even as the friend who wanted to tell you something for your benefit, I must because I still am involved with a race that took numerous lives… including one of your own. If none of us face that kind of reaity, there will really be no peace… and no such thing in our minds as ‘coexistence.’ My kin didn’t grow to understand that growth is as important as progress. So as long as I’m concerned, while you have a chance to understand us… our individualism teaches us to ask that forgiveness, whatever else we believe. I put my first instructions aside when I saw this for myself. And I’d rather live with those thoughts, knowing the consequences that come.” Amelia said it in a speech that Yoshika couldn’t choose to ignore. And the unexpected happens. She was the hugged by Yoshika. As Amelia looks down on Yoshika who was now sobbing, she herself started to shed tears more, and sobbed almost silently. “We have every right… to ask forgiveness… I’m sorry… Yoshika…”

Yoshikawa watched the scene unfold in her eyes and was thinking of this as something that develops an alliance between humanity and the Neuroi… the right way. ‘ _If Yoshika really serves to be that bridge between humanity and to an ever resisting Neuroi agasint their own order, then I think it’ll go as well as she hopes. Well… that’s only if the Neuroi under Genie’s control awakens just like Amelia has. Anything helps… just to assist a friend in need._ ’

At the Miyafuji Clinic, Hikari and Kunika were sitting on futons while talking to a woman sitting on the opposite side together with an older woman.

Yoshiko Akimoto, the old woman, spoke up. “So you two girls were only here to meet us briefly, eh? It seems the talk about our generational history was quite worth it. But it’s your turn.”

The woman, named Sayaka Miyafuji spoke up next. “The two of you must have worked hard to get into your respective fighter wings. Let’s start with you, Kunika.”

“Okay,” Kunika replies. “I wasn’t originally a noble, but I was turned into one when my family introduced me to the Kuroda family, one of the influential families in Fuso, and one of the financial backers of some of the military branches that advances equipment out into the battles we’re all facing. I passed a test in regards to using a striker unit and flying efficiently in front of the family ‘head’, or so who I thought it was. There were a few complications since there was an internal struggle, but the real head of the Kuroda clan showed up and put me in the family right away as soon as the internal problems were resolved. The reason I was able to prove myself was because I had prior experience serving in a squadron... the Imperial Army 33rd. And… it’s because I was able to survive a duel against the family head. That’s how I eventually ended up in the 506th Joint Fighter Wing… the Noble Witches. Our real battle was… the establishment of the Joint Fighter Wing, putting together original European witches together with the Liberion witches. Complications arose. Gallia was once a place of nobles. And putting Liberions in a Fighter Wing that was supposed to include Nobles only made it complicated so…

“While we’re fighting Neuroi, we had to go through those troubles… fighting against revolutionaries to restore the former Gallia. All of it… we got through it, even having myself ending up injured during the establishment ceremony. The best thing of it all is… the ceremony was finished and the media didn’t even have an idea the fighter wing had problems in the first place. We were formed on that same day… proud that we overcame our differences, and worked together as equals. Nobody… should consider nobles just as their status. Qualities are much as important too… one thing I’ve known all up to now.”

Akimoto chuckled. “Well! Looks like you’ve gone through quite a lot! To consider that you didn’t originally come from an influential family and have you go through those trials while being one… I say you’re a lucky girl.”

“Probably much thankful too. I’m involved in a family that thinks beyond status now. And I’m proud to be in the Noble Witches for that.”

“Good to know.” Akimoto nods and looks at Hikari. “So… What about you?”

Hikari winced at this and frowns. “Um… I’m not as colorful as Kunika is.”

Sayaka noticed this and looked at Hikari. “Maybe you haven’t come from an influential family, but maybe you’ve come from quite an adventure instead. I could tell. Sasebo boasts on the numbers of witches they produce especially when they practice in a striker unit. We don’t get that much of a luxury like it here. Yoshika however was able to fly for her first time in a striker unit while the carrier she’s in was under attack by Neuroi.”

“Huh…?” Hikari noticed that little detail about Yoshika’s origin was similar to hers in a way, but so many things were different. “Well… I was a training witch from Sasebo. Others describe me by having a lot of stamina and can run long distances. I’m always behind my sister Takami and I’m always looking forward to be like her, especially when she was considered a hero too. I guess in my own way, I was always focused on a single mandate: Fight for our country in the best way we can! It paid off and I was able to qualify from an exam I passed. But the end result was saving someone from fairly almost winning that exam. The original result was… all participants failed. With me picked… that meant the only thing they considered in qualifying as an additional reinforcement, was the fact I chose to protect someone in the course of risks in the exam. I saved her… the one who picked on me at every single day just because I’m the sister of the hero of Sasebo. All of what’s happened paid off though…

“Unlike Kunika, the only thing I’ve done was prove myself to get stronger… and it’s by being resilient during the trials given to me: Having low magic power at first and eventually able to fight because I have so much energy to dish out in a combat situation. My battles weren’t a joke though. Being a frontline witch without Takami that time proved difficult. But as what others told me… I’m so headstrong that I couldn’t even dare walk back from a challenge. I’m… a close friend with someone from the unit… Kanno Naoe. Thanks to my time in the Brave Witches, I was finally able to see ourselves as equals… and more so as Takami was finally there to join us. It was is as if the problems I had disappeared when I refused to lose.” She then looked at Kunika. “Taking from someone’s book, I experienced being in a family. But it feels different from you, Kunika. While your wing handled differences regarding status, I handled differences with the rest of the wing regarding integrity I still keep as a witch… and how close I am in following my sister. I guess the biggest strength I have all this time in going through was… pulling close to my sister as much as I can. That’s what forged who I am now, to fight no matter the odds.”

Kunika chuckled. “Headstrong, huh?”

“And you’re Noble at heart,” Hikari replied in a smile.

And something weird had happened between Kunika and Hikari. Their hearts skipped a beat… and felt something in their magic working. They both even didn’t know it, but their magic was activating by itself, along with deploying their familiars right along with it. And they saw brief memories of themselves in the other’s minds for a moment, before they both let go, letting their magic fade away and their familiar features recede.

Hikari was shocked and spoke up first and looked at Kunika. “What the heck was that…? I saw some of your memories… The challenge of the Kuroda family… your struggles in Gallia while you were in the 506th, that even got you hurt.”

“I saw your memories too…” Kunika replied who was just as shocked as Hikari. “Your exam in Sasebo… the attack on the carrier… replacing your sister Takami for your spot in the 502nd… and proving yourself as the most enduring witch in the unit… I felt… like I was there.”

“So was I…?” Hikari said that in a question. “How? What was that?”

The room felt silent as none of them knew what to answer to their question.

Hanna-Justina Marseille woke up from her sleep on the couch, jolting suddenly as she briefly screams. She could feel the hot climate of the Australis nation, at least the west end of it. That time in the safehouse wasn’t all that pleasant, especially when three people stepped in the room.

Geraldine Hicks, the oldest witch in the bunch who has renewed magic thanks to the Anointed Witch Hanna who restored it, was the first, bringing out two pistols armed on both hands and got her familiar features out with her own magic activated… Her familiar was the Liberion Greyhound. She was followed in by Katou Keiko and Charlotte Lueder. “Where the heck…?” Geraldine said this, only to find out there was no threat in the room. “Seriously, Hanna?! Got me startled for nothin’?” She said that, glaring at Hanna as she disengages her magic and holsters her duel wield pistols.

“I don’t know what happened,” Hanna replied. “But I got an idea. I’m not the only witch who seems different than the rest. With my status as an Anointed Witch, I can detect others like me in dreams or in visions. I’m not sure… but the detection points me to Fuso.”

Keiko immediately reacted. “What?!!! You’re kidding me!! Why do we have to go to Fuso?!”

“Because… There’s no need for me to get multiple people to get their magic back and make me stronger for the gateway plan. With more than one Anointed Witch, the magic enough would be able to be enough for the portal!. There’s no need for just one conduit to do the work.”

“That’s crazy. You know that Ursula told us to make you more stronger to be the conduit!”

“And we don’t have any more time! The more time we waste on looking for people in wanting to restore their magic, the more the enemy would be able to get more footholds against us. The Allied Forces would lose quicker than we can get more people to recover, and I can’t find it in my heart to let that happen.” Hanna looked at Keiko in a glare but noticed Charlotte approach her. “Charlotte… You know what you saw back at Afrika. We saw the sinkhole both appear and you sensed magic. You saw me come up from that sinkhole, and having learned 5 years worth of ancient teachings. And I proved it was real by restoring Gunslinger G’s magic! Please… we gotta work this out and get to Fuso!”

Charlotte was smiling that time and looked at Hanna without worry. “You know I didn’t let go of you after Afrika. Keiko came with you just because of this. She’s just concerned of you, that’s all. Right?” She asked this towards Keiko who was doubting things.

But Keiko knew better than to doubt now. “You’ve always held the point than I did ever since you became a walking ancient book, Hanna. I believe I can’t speak for all of us on this.”

Geraldine chuckled. “I believed the moment I got my magic back. You get no argument from me.”

Hanna smiled just before her magic activated. Gritting her teeth, she shouted. “BRACE YOURSELVES!”

A small explosion was able to rock the room and blow the front door out of its hinges but not completely detach it from the doorway. The group saw that an independent mercenary camp together with the house was under attack. A Neuroi swarm of small-types were attacking and blue beams were flying from the air to the ground. The mercenaries scrambled to combat, but some were already dying.

Hanna chuckled. “Is it a good day to die?!”

Keiko immediately got upset. “THAT IS THE WRONG QUESTION, YOU IDIOT!!!”

“I know. But we’re not dying. Not here.” Hanna said it, standing up and heading to the door while picking up an MG 42 and continued. “So who’s coming with?”

Geraldine followed Hanna first. “Witches Protect. To The Last.”

Lueder followed next. “I hope you’re able to keep up Keiko.”

Keiko groaned, hearing Charlotte’s remark. “Well that’s an insult now, is it?!” And she followed behind Charlotte.

Hanna breaks the door apart and walks out to feel the sun more…


End file.
